Small Inflatable Boat for Pink Salmon Fishing?

[gavran8]

I recently bought a small, but tough, 3 person inflatable boat and was looking to take it Pink Salmon fishing with my girlfriend. I have a lot of experience with white water kayaking with a plastic kayak, but have not tried out an inflatable boat. I live in Seattle. How would the Snohomish be for a small boat like this? Any other rivers you can recommend for this? What part of the Snohomish can I easily put the boat into the water and not run right into lines cast from shore? Any other advice that can be offered to me?

Thanks in advance for the help.
gavran8

[Gringo Pescador]

Others can be more help than me I am sure, but last humpy run I considered putting my wide-bottom canoe out in the lower Snohomish for pinks. IMO it is not the river you have to worry about, or even getting too close to bankies. It is the other boat's wake.

[Matt]

Boat wake, and unsafe boater would be the worry. You can launch at Langus Park, Rotary Park, or Downtown Snohomish and you will be just fine in your raft.

Lots of canoes, rafts, and kayaks out there. Lower river has very little, if any current. During tide swings it becomes completely stagnant.

Good luck.

[Bodofish]

Today you would have been taking your life in your hands.

[EAmon___hoffman123]

Yea today there were alot of rule breakers on boats, in front of langus people were zooming bye. mabye they dident see the no wake sighns.

[A9]

Stick to the shore. I'm not sure what model you got but pink season brings out some antics and less than ideal boating and water behavior. There's plenty of good bank access if you know where to look and like everyone has echoed, your experience doesn't matter. You are at the mercy of every other boater and the river itself.

[natetreat]

I have a bigger raft, it's the four man fishing seahawk. But I've taken it on riffe lake in the middle of the summer when ski boats are zooming circles around me. Wakes are no biggy for rafts, they bend with the waves. When they get ocean sized you can get splashed but it's not a big deal. The problem is wind with rafts. Currents can be a problem if they're super swift, but small currents are no problem. They don't have much area actually under the water, so it really just means that the water moves around them. Their light weight and bulky upper area makes them get blown around like crazy with the wind. But if you're content to not get anywhere fast, a raft shouldn't be any problem in the lower river.

The upper river and the sky, don't even try it. That can be some tricky water. The snoq, no problem below the falls. It's frog water.

When people are jerks, yell at 'em, and bring rocks to throw at 'em :P J/K

Watch out for hooks in the boat and bring an anchor.

[EAmon___hoffman123]

Hahaha,Yesterday people were chucking rocks at some uncareful folk's on boats:-"

[gavran8]

Thanks for the help guys!

-gavran8

[curado]

you could do it on the snohomish but i would say just used it to get on the opposite shore of thomas's eddy

[Mike Carey]

you could do it on the snohomish but i would say just used it to get on the opposite shore of thomas's eddy

yup!

[Bass Woody]

I'm using water wings! go for it.

[natetreat]

The guys on the other side of tom eddy are pretty close. I think they all pay to get there. They seem to be pretty jerkish towards the anglers on the other side. I'd be careful paddling over to the other side because they'd probably be angry and yell at you. Pink season puts a lot of jerks out there. Even though it's a great spot to fish.